Tuesday, January 19

When Ginny first said she needed help, that she needed everybody who could see her message to start reaching out, I knew she would accomplish her mission. I knew she would find a way to get a plane to Haiti and that she would get the kids to safety.

What happened between that first tweet and the arrival of the 53 orphans in Pittsburgh this morning is a story that I suspect will never fully be told. Party lines had to be crossed. Egos had to be checked. Miracles had to happen. I've previously worked with a few of the players who were involved in the final effort, so I have a tiny glimpse of how challenging it had to have been for all of the people involved to coordinate efforts. I have a tiny glimpse, and yet I'm sure I have no idea.

She'll never admit it, but Ginny did an amazing thing, and it all started with that first tweet.

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A HUGE thank you to each of you who wrote your elected officials, tweeted support, and contacted anybody you thought might be able to help. I am hugely humbled by how fantastic some of the people in "my circle" are. You know who you are. :-)

I'm honestly still trying to mentally process everything that's happened - and how so many events and personal connections over the last year led to this amazing moment. For example, imagine what would have happened if Ginny had remained anonymous or chosen to stop blogging last year? Or if Pittsburgh magazine hadn't sent Jonathan Wander & Laura Petrilla to Haiti to cover the story in 2009?

I get chills thinking about all of the seemingly random events and connections that made all of this possible... as well as the scores of true heroes who worked around the clock. There is a great quote from the series "Firefly" that I feel applies here.

I keep trying to find the words to talk about this and I just don't have them. I have such a tiny presence on the internet and even though I used Facebook, Twitter, and my blog to get the word out it felt like I wasn't doing anything. Even writing to our senators and to Altmire multiple times seemed so futile.

So, I'm grateful to those who had the connections I didn't and unhesitatingly offered up those connections and got the right people involved in making this happen.

I'm not a native Pittsburgher. But I am so proud to say that I am one now and to say that my kids are being raised here. Pittsburgh gets the short end of the stick in a lot of ways but I believe we have the best of both worlds here - the attitude of caring about the people around you that comes with small town living and the many pluses that come from being in a city.

Scott, I also thought of the "what if's". What if Ginny never had her blog? What if she hadn't gotten fired, and didn't have the time to do Make Room for Kids or help the McMutrie sisters? What if she had lived in any city except this one?

But it did. It did happen. The stars aligned. I am continually amazed by the residents of this city, the power of the internet to do good, and am humbled to be able to participate, if even by just a an email to my senator. I am also lucky in that this city is *just* small enough that I have met some of the members too- that means you M and Laura!

Mattie - in my opinion I think that everyone who spoke out helped "move the mountains" You and I and countless others like us might not have known some of the bigwigs personally, but I believe it was the overwhelming volume of e-mails, tweets and calls to politicians, media, and online celebs that helped raise awareness of the crisis - and thus made things happen.

@Mattie--Scott is right. It was the cumulative effect of everyone writing and tweeting and calling that caused the politicians to take control of the situation. Ginny started it, but then everyone made it happen.

It has been absolutely amazing to watch this story unfold, and I am (once again) in awe of the power of social networking. I am in tears of joy over the fact that the ending to all of this has been happy.